Niners and Raiders to Share New Stadium?

The 49’ers on Friday acknowledged that the battered economy likely will slow down their plans to build a new stadium in Santa Clara and now has them willing to discuss a once unthinkable option — sharing a new home with their cross-bay rival, the Raiders. Combining resources with the Oakland Raiders — as the New York Jets and Giants have done on a new $1.6 billion stadium — may be the only way for the 49ers to overcome frozen financial markets to fund a new stadium, NFL insiders and sports economists say. While there are no immediate plans to join forces with the Raiders, the 49ers would be willing to discuss sharing a stadium “if a workable option emerges.”